Mama mia! A Nintendo Direct focusing exclusively on the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder game just dropped earlier today, and we're here to tell you all about it. We have new enemies, new power-ups, and a whole new wonderous world to explore. Let's-a-go!

New Wonderous World

The story of the game takes us to a new land named the Flower Kingdom, ruled by the benevolent Prince Florian, a little caterpillar-like fellow. However, things take a turn for the worse when Bowser touches the Wonder Flower and merges with Florian's castle. Well, that's not good.

Of course, Mario and gang will have travel across the land and find a way to defeat Castle Bowser, which is quite a flip-up from the usual goal of defeating Bowser in his Castle. So let's see who is up to stop the Koopa King and where they must go to achieve their goals!


Castle Bowser. Not to be confused with Bowser's Castle.

Characters, Stages, and Enemies

This might be the largest cast of characters in a Mario platformer. Sadly, the gameplay style doesn't vary much between characters, as they're basically split into two categories:

  • Normal
    • Mario
    • Luigi
    • Peach
    • Daisy
    • Two different Toads
    • Toadette
  • Easy
    • Four different Yoshis
    • Nabbit 

The easy characters don't take damage when hit (though they still lose a life due to bottomless pits). In addition to that, the Yoshis can eat and spit projectiles at enemies and also flutter to reach higher areas.


That's a lotta characters!

In terms of levels, the game will be split in 6 different regions, plus a 7th connecting them all at the center. There's be some openness to the order in which you'll be able to tackle the levels, though it wasn't clear if you could also take the worlds on in any order (not likely). You'll also find various talking plants along the way that can give you random hints.

The World Map. Bowser is at the center of it.

In addition to the returning Goombas, Koopas, Boos, and Lakitus, there's also a number of new enemies:

  • Hoppyhats - Enemies with spikes on them that jump when you do.
  • Melon Piranha Plants - They spit melon seeds at you that keep you in the air.
  • Condarts - Birds that dive head-first into the nearest surface when you run past them.
  • Konks - Blocks that will fall in your direction even when you swim through jelly (it's a thing).
  • Mumsies - Mummies you can unravel by pulling on a string at their back.
  • Maw-Maws - Enemies that will chase and swallow you.
  • And many more unrevealed adversaries.

New enemies for you to jump o-Noooo! Not these ones!

Power-Ups

In addition to the returning Fire Flower (how fitting), 3 new power-ups were showcased in the direct. The first is the already-revealed Elephant, which turns the gang into bipedal pachyderms that can hit enemies and projectiles with their trunks, break blocks, run over small gaps, and hold water to spray it in a later area.

Let's address the Elephant in the room.

The second power-up is the Bubble, which you can use to instantly turn any enemy into coins by shooting small-moving bubbles at them. This includes enemies that are usually invincible, as well as ones hiding behind walls. You can also jump on them and reach higher areas.


Good to see Mario getting a more bubbly personality.

Last, but certainly not least, is the Drill, which lets you... uhm, drill into the ground to avoid enemies or bypass obstacles. You can also drill downward to break blocks, drill into the ceiling, and it acts as a defense against falling enemies.


This is not a Drill! I repeat, this is no-... Oh. I guess it is.

Characters will also have the option to keep a power-up for later by getting a new one and replacing the old. Then, if you're in a tight spot, you can use the saved power-up to help. This was also present in previous Mario games, but it seems to be limited to one item in this one.

Now, those are the usual items you find in blocks, but there's also a new kind of power-up called badges. You select those at the start of the level and they change how you play for the entire duration. So far we have:

  • Parachute Cap - Lets the character glide for a small distance.
  • Wall-Climbing Jump - Pretty self-explanatory.
  • Dolphin Kick - Lets you swim faster.
  • Crouching High Jump - Again, explains itself.
  • Grappling Vine - Lets you grapple to various surfaces, a.k.a. the best badge in the game.
  • Safety Bounce - If you fall in lava or the like, you'll bounce right up (one assumes you can't do that indefinitely).
  • Sensor - Lets you detect secrets.
  • Coin Magnet - Brings coins to you when you're close to them.
  • Invisibility - Turns you invisible. Both to enemies and yourself. You know, in case the game is too easy.
  • Jet Run - Makes you sprint continuously, basically turning the game into an auto-runner.
  • And probably more.


Reminds me of summer camp.

All this variety should spice up the game and allow player to play however they like. You'll be able to earn these badges from special challenge levels or buy them from a dedicated shop.

Wonder

The big selling point of the game is the Wonder Flower. This is something you'll find in the level that will change it with various stage hazards. This will persist until you find a Wonder Seed, which is the currency of the game (you also get them by completing the level).


"It's-a me, you friendly amigo Spider-Mario!"

Here are the Wonder effects that were showcased in the Direct:

  • Pipes that move up and down and that wriggle around.
  • A stampede of sheep-like creatures.
  • Tilting the level.
  • Free-falling through some clouds.
  • A lot of bubbles filling the screen
  • Making the character walk on walls, as if it's some sort of top-down game.
  • Floating in outer space while the game scrolls to the right.
  • Becoming a Goomba.
  • Becoming a spiked-ball and rolling around in the level.
  • Ballooning and floating upward.

And there's likely a lot more effects we haven't seen. These should make the levels feel fresh and offer a very varied gameplay loop.

Co-Op

The game offers local co-op for up to 4 players. If one of the players dies, they turn into a ghost and have 5 seconds to touch another player and be revived. If anyone plays as Yoshi, any of the other players can ride on his back, including other Yoshis.


One, two, three, four, can't really fit any more.

There's also online functionality, but it's not with other friends. Instead, you'll be able to see the Shadows of other players in real time playing around you. You can also leave Standees behind, which are basically cut-outs of the characters. If you die, you can be revived by touching another player or a standee. Players will also have Hearth Points that will go up when they help another player or finish a level together.

A new "Red Mario Edition" Switch releases on October 6, ahead of Super Mario Bros. Wonder release on October 20th. Are you excited for the game? What's your favorite reveal from the Direct? Let us know in the comments below!